Bioremediation is becoming increasingly applied commercially to businesses all over the world. Such businesses can include those that result in potentially degrading the naturally occurring systems through altering the composition in which the physical ecosystem resides.
These businesses have a collective responsibility to ensure that the environment is to receive as minimal damage whilst and after undertaking core functions of their business. To do this businesses are required to collaborate a team that is capable of planning, monitoring and controlling functions of the business. These potentially damaging processes undertaken in consequence must follow standardised and predicted outcomes .
A key example of a business that works towards high environmental standards can be found within the mining sector, in order to undergo the core function of ore extraction the business is required to plan where extraction is to occur and provide an indication of its impact upon a naturally functioning system. Continuous monitoring of this extraction site must take place periodically, as to ensure that other close residing systems remain unaffected, such things as dust, water flow and organism interference may be the key cause of flow-on effect damages. Thus these interferences must be controlled, however in most cases re-planning is done to ensure that further damage is not to occur.
A business that excels in its ability to maintain the environment is Barrick Gold Incorporated. Barrick Gold Corporation is the gold industry leader, with 25 operating mines and a pipeline of large, long-life projects located across five continents, in addition to large land positions on some of the most prolific mineral districts. Barrick's vision is to be the world’s best gold mining company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. (http://www.barrick.com/Company/Profile/default.aspx)
The key environmental goal shared by Barrick and all its employers is that it is commited towards minimising the environmental footprint and safeguard the environment, now and for future generations. Responsible environmental management is central to our success as a leading gold mining company and we seek to continually improve our performance. (http://www.barrick.com/CorporateResponsibility/Environment/default.aspx)
The key case study in which main focus will be placed upon Lake Cowal Barrick gold mine, located in remote NSW this is one of the five operating gold mines within Australia. Although in its early stages Lake Cowal is in the process of utilising and approving an environmentally friendly method of ramification, this method being microremediation.
In order to do this Lake Cowal has combined cleaned straw, cow manure and soil in specific amounts, by the tonne in turn this indicates that this process can be carried out in the event of a large spread disaster, such as an oil spill. This process has been altered numerous times in order to reach greater efficiency in regards to both time and materials required, to do this Barrick ensures that sufficient mositure, nutrients, pH, oxygen and spacial needs of the microbes are met through various processes. In order to do retain mositure soaking of the remediation materials occurs on a monthly basis, this material is then turned on a weekly basis in order to provide oxygen to the microbes. Through this process of soil turning it also enables a higher rate of reproduction throughout the remediation material evenly. The pH of this material is maintained primarily through the addition of a natural fertiliser in this case, cow manure. Nutrients are provided by the straw in which is of large component in the remediation material.
Once the remediation material has been left to mature to the highest microbial growth it is then spread evenly over the oil or chemical spill that may have occurred wthin the mine site. This material once placed can take up to 32 days to convert such harmful substances into less harmful substances and therefore less degrading to the surrounding environment. Turning of the material must continue on a weekly basis even after the material has been placed on the spill, this enables greater efficiency as a larger number of microbes are made available to the spill pollutant and enables even transfer of the pollutant reducing death of microbes due to over excessive digestion while converting these potentially harmful substances.
Bioremediation is becoming increasingly applied commercially to businesses all over the world. Such businesses can include those that result in potentially degrading the naturally occurring systems through altering the composition in which the physical ecosystem resides.
These businesses have a collective responsibility to ensure that the environment is to receive as minimal damage whilst and after undertaking core functions of their business. To do this businesses are required to collaborate a team that is capable of planning, monitoring and controlling functions of the business. These potentially damaging processes undertaken in consequence must follow standardised and predicted outcomes .
A key example of a business that works towards high environmental standards can be found within the mining sector, in order to undergo the core function of ore extraction the business is required to plan where extraction is to occur and provide an indication of its impact upon a naturally functioning system. Continuous monitoring of this extraction site must take place periodically, as to ensure that other close residing systems remain unaffected, such things as dust, water flow and organism interference may be the key cause of flow-on effect damages. Thus these interferences must be controlled, however in most cases re-planning is done to ensure that further damage is not to occur.
A business that excels in its ability to maintain the environment is Barrick Gold Incorporated. Barrick Gold Corporation is the gold industry leader, with 25 operating mines and a pipeline of large, long-life projects located across five continents, in addition to large land positions on some of the most prolific mineral districts. Barrick's vision is to be the world’s best gold mining company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. (http://www.barrick.com/Company/Profile/default.aspx)
The key environmental goal shared by Barrick and all its employers is that it is commited towards minimising the environmental footprint and safeguard the environment, now and for future generations. Responsible environmental management is central to our success as a leading gold mining company and we seek to continually improve our performance. (http://www.barrick.com/CorporateResponsibility/Environment/default.aspx)
Barrick Gold Mine's Corporation logo. (http://topnews.net.nz/images/Barrick-Gold.jpg)
The key case study in which main focus will be placed upon Lake Cowal Barrick gold mine, located in remote NSW this is one of the five operating gold mines within Australia. Although in its early stages Lake Cowal is in the process of utilising and approving an environmentally friendly method of ramification, this method being microremediation.
In order to do this Lake Cowal has combined cleaned straw, cow manure and soil in specific amounts, by the tonne in turn this indicates that this process can be carried out in the event of a large spread disaster, such as an oil spill. This process has been altered numerous times in order to reach greater efficiency in regards to both time and materials required, to do this Barrick ensures that sufficient mositure, nutrients, pH, oxygen and spacial needs of the microbes are met through various processes. In order to do retain mositure soaking of the remediation materials occurs on a monthly basis, this material is then turned on a weekly basis in order to provide oxygen to the microbes. Through this process of soil turning it also enables a higher rate of reproduction throughout the remediation material evenly. The pH of this material is maintained primarily through the addition of a natural fertiliser in this case, cow manure. Nutrients are provided by the straw in which is of large component in the remediation material.
Once the remediation material has been left to mature to the highest microbial growth it is then spread evenly over the oil or chemical spill that may have occurred wthin the mine site. This material once placed can take up to 32 days to convert such harmful substances into less harmful substances and therefore less degrading to the surrounding environment. Turning of the material must continue on a weekly basis even after the material has been placed on the spill, this enables greater efficiency as a larger number of microbes are made available to the spill pollutant and enables even transfer of the pollutant reducing death of microbes due to over excessive digestion while converting these potentially harmful substances.